Falling Slowly
by Enigmaforum
Summary: They weren't in love. Yet. But it definately looked like it was heading in that direction. After all, they were already falling, it was just a matter of time before they crashed into the other.


**Disclaimer: I don't own PR and I really doubt that I ever will unless I somehow come to own Disney…and yeah…that's never gonna happen. **

**AN: So it's been awhile since I've been in the PR universe and I am happily entering it again with this latest season. RPM is really a season that I'm enjoying and I hope all of you are too. It has a decent plot, good characters, and actors to portray them. Of all the characters I'm finding myself shipping for Summer and Dillon all the way. I just...how can you resist those two? :D So this oneshot is inspired by them and their amazing chemistry. This piece is set after the RPM episode "Belly of the Beast".**

**Dedication: Kim, my amazing big sister. I adore you and hope this makes you smile. Angel, Shawn, and the Ninja….I'm so lucky to have you all in my life. I couldn't ask for better friends/family.**

**Music: She Is Love- Parachute..amazing song…was on repeat the entire time I wrote this piece.**

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Frustration, sadness, and all around confusion. Those were three emotions that could easily define what Dillon was feeling at this point in time. It had taken three days of detective work and fighting but he finally had an answer to something about his past. He finally knew something about his past; he had a sister. He didn't know if she was younger or older, what her name was, but she was _his_ sister. The mere thought of her sent a fierce wave of protectiveness throughout his entire being and Dillon now knew that he wanted nothing more than to find her and make sure she was alright. God only knew what she'd been through in that factory but he was now determined to find her.

This is where his frustration came into play. He'd finally found out something; found out about someone, only to have the promise of answers, of her, ripped away from him as quickly as he'd found it. His sister, whoever she was, hadn't been in that factory with the other workers and he'd been so sure that she would be; that she would be alive and hopefully unharmed and to just not have her there did more than cause frustration within his troubled mind. It hurt. It hurt in so many ways that he could barely comprehend the torrent of emotions that were now cascading through his head because of her not being there. He was suddenly feeling things that he just wasn't accustomed too in any way shape or form.

No, Dillon was used to watching the other people in his life, his teammates, his best friends, and his family for all intensive purposes deal with their own pain. He was used to seeing them with their hearts on their sleeves at times. It was something he'd come to expect from them, a comfort of sorts, but what he was not comfortable with was being the one person showing his emotions for everyone else to see. He had emotions of course, a lot of them having to deal with pain, sadness, and anger at the fact that he didn't know about his life before Corinth but he'd learned how to hide those emotions beneath the surface. He buried them deep inside of his heart, content to never let them out because if he did that meant dealing with it all and that was just not an option. Dealing with them meant taking time that he didn't have and not being able to focus on the tasks at hand. Dillon couldn't do that and he wouldn't. That was why he hid his feelings, why he was so good at hiding them.

At least, he used to be good at hiding said feelings. Today had completely changed all of that at the realization that his sister hadn't been in that damn factory. The very moment he'd realized that she wasn't there Dillon had suddenly been unable to hide his feelings of disappointment and sadness from those around him and that bothered him. Showing emotion of any kind was something that he saw as a weakness and he didn't like it because all he'd seen from his teammates, his friends, since returning from that godforsaken factory was pity. Well, most of his teammates, Gem and Gemma had been off in their own little world that consisted of things Dillon had no interest in knowing about for the sake of his own sanity.

But aside from them; almost everyone else had already tried to comfort him in some way or another because they'd seen how crushed he'd been at the factory. And being the people that they were, the friends that they were to him, they'd been doing their best to try and help him deal with his feelings. Flynn had offered to make him a smoothie, Ziggy had tried his damn shadow puppets, and Scott had offered to let him take his precious red car out for a drive if he needed some real speed. They'd all tried their hardest and while he'd never ever admit it to anyone he appreciated their attempts. He was grateful for his friends and for the fact that they cared enough about him to even try and do things to make it better. But Dillon was still getting accustomed to having these kinds of people in his life and in all honesty, after today's events, he'd wanted to be left alone. Alone so he could think and wallow; two things his friends had seemed very opposed to letting him do in the aftermath of such an emotional and trying day. They'd tried numerous ways of distracting him and only stopped when Summer had come to his rescue.

She'd practically torn into their friends and made them leave him be. Thankfully, and probably for their own safety they'd immediately dispersed throughout the entire garage. Summer had waited by him until she was sure they were all thoroughly occupied before she too had left him alone. She'd said nothing to him, just given him a passing glance and a squeeze on the shoulder as she'd walked by and then she was gone. Summer had understood him when the others hadn't and for that Dillon would be forever grateful.

Their brief exchange had happened hours ago and Dillon now found that he was alone in the Garage, sitting in his car as the others slept peacefully in their beds. Now this kind of thing wasn't exactly a foreign occurrence due to the fact that he didn't need as much rest as everyone else but usually there was something around to occupy him; tonight was different. Tonight his mind was not only rattling about thoughts of today but he also found himself consumed with thoughts about a certain yellow teammate that had come to his rescue more than once today.

_Summer._ He'd always found her attractive and bright. Hell, if he was really being totally and completely honest with himself Dillon had had a crush on her from day one. After all, she'd been the one to come into his cell, had challenged him without even knowing anything about him, and could kick ass with the best of them. Yes, Dillon had started crushing from that very first meeting and now that he thought about it, really thought about it, that crush had lasted all of two days before his feelings had started to shift into something more concrete.

The more that he got to know Summer, really know her, the more he started too really like her. She was kind, generous to those around her, cared about those closest to her, and she was tough. She kicked his ass when he needed her too and then helped him stand back up again by just flashing her smile at him. She'd somehow become this bright beacon in his world of confusion, the one constant he could depend on above anything else. He didn't know how she'd done it, but somehow Summer had wormed her way past his walls and Dillon honestly didn't want her going anywhere.

His feelings for Summer were definitely strong, got stronger each day but he hadn't done anything about them yet. Why? Well the simple of the fact the matter was that Dillon, Black Ranger extraordinaire, was terrified. He couldn't remember if he'd ever felt this way about anyone before and he didn't know how to proceed about it all. He had an inkling that perhaps his feelings were returned by the attractive Yellow Ranger. There were moments where Summer had these looks and these smiles, and they were just for him. Dillon knew it sounded crazy but he knew that they were his because he'd never seen them given to anyone else within a hundred foot radius of the Yellow Bear Ranger.

The only problem was what if he really was just imagining everything when it came to the game he and Summer had taken to playing? He wanted to make a move, to tell her she was gorgeous, to make her his something. But he didn't want to make an ass out of himself or somehow ruin the team dynamic in the process. Yes, despite having a cocky as hell attitude Dillon did care about the team and the people on it and he most certainly didn't want to screw up their cohesiveness by making things awkward between Summer and himself.

Of course, that all depended on Summer and the feelings she may or may not have in regards to him. Feelings that Dillon knew nothing about except for the occasional raw instinct that overtook him. Like today in that burning factory, Dillon had not only wanted to find his sister, he'd wanted to get Summer out because of the danger there. He'd had a strong desire to protect her even when she was unknowingly protecting him from doing anything too reckless…like running into the fire. And yes he probably would have tested out those enhanced senses of his doing just that if she hadn't said that he was worth saving, if she hadn't gotten trapped in that burning building with him, if he hadn't felt this intense surge of protectiveness at the very moment that beam had fallen.

If had been an intense few seconds encased in heat, dust, flames, and most intense of all was the way they were into each other. Dillon had found himself lost in Summer's bright eyes, the way she'd looked at him had had him wanting to kiss her senseless. He'd thought that maybe just maybe she'd wanted the same thing he had and they'd been so damn close to doing something before that stupid godforsaken flying whale had dumped water all over them. Yes, it had saved them and all that jazz but it had interrupted a kiss he had so desperately wanted to happen.

But then, there had been hope. They'd been soaked, laughing, and once again Dillon had found himself lost in Summer's eyes. She'd looked at him with such intensity, such feeling, that once more he'd found himself leaning down to her, coming so close to kissing her smiling lips and then..another interruption. The Boom Happy Twins had come rushing into the building for them making that two kisses that hadn't happened in the span of a few minutes and that made Dillon one very unhappy Power Ranger.

For those few seconds all Dillon had had to concentrate on was Summer, his feelings for her, and the intense moment they were in. For those few seconds all Dillon had been sure of her feelings for him. Then it had all gone to hell and he was left in his current position; alone in the garage trying to calm his overactive mind down. It was times like these that he wished he could sleep for more than a few hours at a time. In sleep he didn't have to worry about how much he'd failed at protecting his sister and in sleep he didn't have to worry about his unrequited feelings for Summer.

Summer, god he groaned at the mere thought of her name because it sent images flooding into his mind. Images that included her body pressed tightly against his, soaking wet, lips puckered, and oh god he had to stop this train of thought before it got him into some serious trouble. Thinking like this about her was dangerous to his body and his mind but Dillon honestly didn't know what else to do. He couldn't turn his brain off from today, from those moments shared with her where he thought that there was something there.

Dillon closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the seat of his car in an attempt to rid his mind of what it was making him think about right now but found that his efforts were fruitless. Eyes closed just meant Summer's gorgeous face was now swimming across his eyelids and there wasn't a damn thing he could do to stop it.

"Fuck this," Dillon muttered as his eyes snapped open, his hand quickly reaching for the door handle on his car, grasping on and pushing said door open. He stepped out of the car quickly and before he could possibly start thinking about all the ways this could go wrong he marched towards the stairs and more importantly Summer's room. He was going to do something about his feelings for Summer tonight. She had to feel something for him that went beyond their blurred lines of friendship after what had transpired today and he wasn't going to not do anything about it anymore. He needed something solid after this hellish day of confusion and Summer could be just what he was looking for.

It took him all of two minutes to make his way up the metal staircase and before Dillon knew what was happening he was standing in front of Summer's yellow door with his mind still racing. He had no idea what he was going to say or do with her, but he knew he was tired of doing a whole lot of nothing. So something, anything was better than that right? He could do this; he could talk to Summer. He could do something. He was a Power Ranger for Pete's sake; they could do anything.

It was with that thought on his mind that Dillon finally managed to raise his arm and put his fist to the door, softly knocking three times before pulling his hand away and waiting for something to happen. For a few minutes nothing does, and Dillon is afraid that Summer won't answer the door and that he'll have to leave. Leaving would be a bad idea simply because Dillon has the courage to do this now; who knows if he'll have this same bout of courage come tomorrow?

All of his thoughts about courage and his potential lack of it fled the very moment the door to her room swung open to reveal Summer in a pair of yellow shorts and a giant black t-shirt, staring up at him, confusion written all over her face.

"Dillon?" Her voice was quiet, obviously trying not to disturb anyone else that may or may not be awake at this hour.

"Yeah," he answered and almost immediately slapped himself for the comment. God he couldn't act like this right now, he needed to be his normal self, not a pile of mush who couldn't form coherent sentences.

"Is everything alright?" She asked slowly and he nodded before shaking his head and willing himself to speak and not sound like an idiot.

"All's quiet in the city if that's what you mean but in my head...not so much," he answered quietly. "It's all kind of running together. I just…were you sleeping?" he asked suddenly, if she'd been resting and he'd disturbed her he was going to feel like an ass. She needed the sleep more than he needed to do something about their unresolved feelings for one another. He was surprised as she shook her head in response.

"No. Tried to and failed. There are too many thoughts in my head tonight." She paused for a minute to bite her lip in a way that Dillon now thinks should be illegal before moving aside and gesturing into her room. "Come in? We can talk about it if you're ready. Or we can just sit and do nothing. No pressure."

It was in that moment that Dillon knew that his feelings for Summer were definitely in the right place. She was looking at him with such sincerity in her eyes and in her words that he couldn't help but be touched. This was why he liked her as much as he did, why he was falling for her on a deeper level than he cared to think about right now. She cared about him but she wasn't about to push him to talk about anything until he was ready. Summer knew him like no-one else and it was because of that that he knew he had to do something about these feelings now. He just had to hope that she felt the same way.

He took a breath before nodding to her question and quickly stepping into her room. As Summer closed the door behind him Dillon couldn't keep his eyes from wandering across the room. He'd never been in here before and his curiosity got the better of him. He took notice of the pale yellow walls that seemed to glow in the soft lamplight she had in the room. Her desk was filled with transcripts from battles and her walls were littered with photos of her with everyone on the team. This room was unmistakably Summer; warm and bright, like her smile and like her spirit. Dillon liked it.

"You can sit down you know." He jumped slightly as she walked past him, a teasing smile on her lips that seemed to instantly fade when she caught the look of raw determination in his eyes.

"Dillon what's wrong?"

Dillon sighs and curses her ability to read him so well. He didn't want to just start off a conversation talking about his feelings but it seemed like that was going to be how this was going to progress; even if he had no idea about how to start talking about it. So he tried to buy himself a few seconds by walking past his teammate and settling himself down in her desk chair. He was going to go for the bed, but that he feared would get him slapped.

"Dillon?" He sighed when Summer followed him and sat down opposite him on her bed, looking at him with such concern and curiosity that he found himself wanting to just kiss her senseless like he hadn't gotten to do hours before.

"Summer, I, today, in the factory," he began quickly, trying to make himself sound intelligent but once again finding it impossible to accomplish in her presence.

"Dillon I know we didn't find your sister but we will. I prom-" She stopped when he held a hand up to silence her.

"I wasn't talking about that," he answered quietly. "I wanted to-damn it this is hard-talk about us."

There he'd said it. Not in the most poetic way possible but he couldn't do poetic right now, he just had to get it out there before his head exploded. He chanced a glance up to look into Summer's eyes and once again saw confusion settled there and he knew without even questioning that he'd have to elaborate further before she got a glimpse as to what he wanted to talk about. Damn it. Sometimes he hated his lack of memory, especially when it came to dealing with women because then maybe, just maybe he wouldn't be screwing this up so much.

"Summer," he began taking a breath to try and calm himself down. He could do this. "Today in the factory there were these moments where I-well where it felt like we were about to-like there was something there between us. Something more than friendship there," he amended quickly, keeping his voice low as he looked at the wall behind Summer but never straight at her. "And well, maybe you've noticed that there have been other times when my feelings for you have been semi-obvious and I think that maybe you might feel something for me too. I just…I've been thinking about this for awhile and I can't not do anything about it anymore. I need to know how you feel because the way I feel is driving me insane."

Dillon stopped talking then because really he had no desire to make any more of an ass out of himself. He'd just rambled about his feelings for what seemed to be forever and now here he was, sitting in a room with the person that held those feelings and she was saying nothing. Maybe he should just leave and save himself the misery and the anxiety of getting turned down; it would really make it all simpler. Except he honestly didn't want to leave until he got something out of Summer, even if it was a rejection. At least then he could have some closure on the matter.

"How do you feel?"

The question startles Dillon form his thoughts and before he can stop himself he finds his eyes looking into hers. In them he finds the question but also what seems to be a good amount of mischief, like she already knows the answer to the question but wants to make him suffer more than he already is. Oh she was evil, but Dillon found himself perfectly willing to let her win if he wasn't getting kicked out yet.

"About you?" he asked, and she nodded, a smile playing on her lips, a hint of happiness in her eyes as he took a breath and answered her question honestly.

"I care about you Summer. As more than a friend and more than a teammate. I want more than that with you. You get me like no one else and well...I want more than what we have. I feel for you. I'm not saying it's love, not yet, but I can say that I'm falling in that direction. The only question is…are you falling too or am I going to crash and burn?"

There, he'd asked the question that had been lingering in his head for far too long. Now all Dillon had to do was wait for Summer to give him her answer; good or bad he could take it. The waiting was the thing that was driving Dillon crazy but thankfully Summer didn't make him wait long. In fact she kind of startled him when she stood up from her current position on her bed, quickly walked across the room to her door, locked it and then proceeded to walk back to him.

"W-what are you doing?" he asked slowly, feeling his stomach give a twist as she finally reached him and leaned down, her face inches from his own.

"Making sure there are no interruptions. I'm through with not being able to do this," she murmured before she quickly sealed her mouth over his own. For a moment Dillon was absolutely and positively frozen, and then he realized that Summer was actually kissing him. He quickly got over the shock of her lips on his and began moving along with her. Summer sighed into his mouth then and leaned down in order to give herself more leverage, which sparked Dillon's hands to come up to her hips and pull her down towards him. She instantly got the message and proceeded to somehow straddle his lap in that tiny chair, all while keeping their mouths connected. Her arms wrapped around his neck as his hands settled on her hips as the two began to explore each other's mouths to greater extent. They moved to a rhythm that was uniquely them, Summer would nip at Dillon's lips; he would suck hers into his mouth and let his tongue glide across the flesh there. They would pull back to take a quick breath and then they were attacking each other with a renewed ferocity. The kisses were wild, passionate, and most importantly had feeling behind them that neither could ignore.

"Summer," Dillon heard himself gasping as she pulled her mouth away from his, resting her forehead against his own as she took in deep gulps of air. Dillon followed suit with his own deep breaths, trying to regain his balance all while pulling Summer's body as close to his as humanely possible. He was desperate for contact of any kind now that he'd experienced the drugging effect of her kisses.

"Wow," she muttered after a few minutes and he grinned.

"I second that," he replied as she smiled down at him and brought her hands up to trace patterns on her face. "So is it safe to guess that you're falling with me?" he asked slowly, needing verbal confirmation of some kind for his own sanity.

"I'm falling alright," she said softly. "I want more than friends with you. I want to be that girl that makes you smile when no one else can. I want to be the one you lean on when times get rough. I just want to be there."

"Oh Summer," he murmured, reaching up to brush a strand of hair out of her eyes. "You're already all those things and more." She grinned at him then and kissed him once more, short, sweet, but definitely full of the emotions they couldn't express in words just yet.

"So we're falling?" Dillon asked when she pulled back and nodded.

"We're falling," she confirmed.

"Are we going to try this whole relationship thing out?" he asked, biting his lip in the process and she smiled again and nodded. "I'm warning you now, I don't remember how to be in a relationship. I could be a really bad boyfriend."

"Impossible," she murmured. "No one who cares as much as you do could be a bad boyfriend. You might screw up, but everyone does that, its part of the fun. I promise I'll still be here if you do, you aren't getting rid of me that easily."

"Yeah?" he asked with a grin.

"Yeah," she said, leaning down to place a quick peck against his lips before wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her head against his neck. "I'm here to stay Dillon."

He hugged her to him then and just let those words play out over his head. She was here to stay; for him and everything that could possibly mean for them in the future. She wasn't going to give up if the going got rough and he knew even if it did get rough she'd be there for him if he so needed it. Summer was his beacon and now she was his something more.

They weren't in love. Yet. But they would be. After all, they were already falling it was just a matter of time before they full on crashed into each other.


End file.
